Baltimore Orthodox Attorney Files Candidacy For Maryland House Of Delegates

Still celebrating last year’s success of Yitzy Schleifer’s hard-fought campaign to the Baltimore City Council, the Baltimore frum community is uniting towards the election of another community member, Dalya Attar, for the state legislature.

Dalya is vying for one of three House of Delegate seats in Legislative District 41. With Maryland’s 2018 Primary Elections a little more than a year away, several candidates have already filed or announced intentions to run in the 41st District, including a Jewish (non-Orthodox) incumbent and two Muslim candidates. Now joining that list is Dalya Attar, a former Bais Yaakov of Baltimore student who is married to Asaf Mehrzadi; they have two children.

The 41st legislative district, which encompasses all the Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods of Baltimore City, is larger than the city council district represented by Schleifer, and will require greater resources to win. “We’ll need more donations, more sign locations, and more volunteers door knocking,” said Dalya. “But this is a very important race, and I hope the community will join the effort.”

Prior to announcing her intent to run, Dalya conferred with local leading Rabbonim, securing their support for her campaign. The daughter of immigrants, Dalya wants to give back to the community that gave so much to her family. A former Bais Yaakov of Baltimore student, she holds a law degree from University of Maryland and today works as an Assistant State’s Attorney in Baltimore, prosecuting criminals and making our streets safer.

Dalya hopes to give the Orthodox community a voice in the legislature, with someone who understands the traditions and practices of the frum community. As the Baltimore Orthodox community expands rapidly, many believe it is time for a frum representative in the Maryland General Assembly.

Dalya could become the second Orthodox Jewish female elected to office in Baltimore, joining Chaya “Karen” Friedman, a Baltimore City Circuit Court judge who is married to askan Tzvi Howard Friedman.

“Baltimore’s Orthodox community has a great relationship with political leaders around the state, and last year we elected a frum city councilman, but we’ve never had one of our own elected to the legislature,” said Ronnie Rosenbluth, a local business owner and former member of the Baltimore City Democratic Central Committee. “Our legislature has Jews, Muslims, Christians, and even a Lebanese-born representative, but no Orthodox Jew. It’s time, and if our community steps up, this is a race we can win.”

Dalya believes her background and experience will enable her to fight for all Baltimore City families. “Born and raised in Baltimore, I know we can make great improvements to the city’s quality of life. Watching Democrat insiders climb their way up the political system, I realized that Baltimore belongs to all of us. We need an outsider’s voice in Annapolis who will speak for all our families and communities, making decisions to positively impact education, neighborhood development, job growth, and the atrocious crime and drug rates.”

Dalya will be hosting her campaign kick-off on June 5 in Baltimore. For more information, please visit www.DalyaAttar.com.